NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

APOLLO 19
TECHNICAL AIR-TO-GROUND VOICE TRANSCRIPTION
(GOSS NET 1 AND EQUIVALENTS)

Prepared for:
Subcommittee on Space and Science, United States Senate
President, United States of America

INTRODUCTION

This is the transcription of the Technical Air-to-Ground Voice Transmission from the Apollo 19 mission. Transmissions from Houston to Apollo 19 were transcribed from salvaged materials in the post-war NASA archives of the primary (GOSS NET 1) recordings.

Transmissions from Apollo 19 to Houston that were absent from the GOSS NET 1 archives were recordings made by amateur radio operators after the loss of NASA’s reception capability. To the extent possible, these transmissions have been verified as authentic but until authenticity is verified at the source (i.e., lunar lander) these transmissions are annotated in the text as inauthentic.

The Agency hopes that a future manned space flight to the moon will allow retrieval of the lunar module recordings and a more definitive account.

Communications in the text may be identified according to the following list.

Spacecraft:
CDR Commander Fred W. “Pecky” Haise Jr.
CMP Command module pilot William R. Pogue
LMP Lunar module pilot Gerald P. Carr

Mission Control Center
CC Capsule Communicator (CAP COMM)
F Flight Director

Recovery Forces
TICO USS Ticonderoga

Mission Tapes 1-28/4 

[REDACTED]

Mission Tape 29/1 [Day Two on Lunar Surface]

REST PERIOD – NO COMMUNICATIONS

Day/Hr/Min/Sec
02 00 09 00 CC Apollo 19, Apollo 19, this is Houston. Over.

LMP Top of the morning, Houston.

CC Good morning, Apollo 19.

CDR Another beautiful day on the Moon.

CMP Another beautiful day orbiting the Moon.

LMP Houston, systems check. Over.

CC From down here, systems are looking good. Over.

LMP Looking good up here, too. Any thoughts on those
overpressure readings? Over.

CC Roger. We logged two overpressure signals in the
primary fuel tank yesterday and one early this
morning. All resolved. CAP COMM is trying to trace
the source of those alarms. Over.

CMP Roger. My colleagues in the lander down there are
too shy to admit it, but they are a little concerned
about that primary tank reading complicating their
launch from the lunar surface. Over.

CC CAP COMM is working on the problem. Engineers
think alarms are the result of an electrical fault. Plan
today is to check internal and external wiring for
shorts. Over.

CDR Roger. Jerry and I are looking forward to crawling
around on the bottom of this firework looking for
sparking wires. Over.

LMP This place could use a good dusting. The maid
service of late has been lacking.

F Apollo 19, Houston. Request you switch to medical
channel for the remainder. Over.

CDR Roger Houston. Copernicus confirms medical
channel. Over.

CMP Roger Houston. Confirm secure channel. Over.

F Roger. Acknowledge secure channel, Apollo 19.
Over.

CDR Houston, go ahead.

F Apollo 19, we are shifting your return to the
secondary splashdown site. Over.

CDR Roger that, Houston. Why is primary site not
viable? Weather? Over.

F USS Ticonderoga is unable to sail to primary
splashdown zone due to Soviet naval activity in the
Pacific. Over.

CDR Houston, say again, Soviet naval activity? Over?

F Roger. Soviet patrol ships and submarines have
been spotted in the primary splashdown zone. USS
Ticonderoga is unable to approach. Over.

LMP Houston, why is the Soviet navy sniffing around the
primary splashdown? That is way out of their patrol
range. Over.

F Apollo 19, Secretary of Defense briefed us this
morning. This situation is evolving. Soviets are
making a lot of aggressive moves in the past 72
hours. There is unusual naval activity in Atlantic
and Pacific. Soviet bombers are flying to the
Alaskan border. Eastern Bloc troops are massing
along the West German border. NATO is divided,
some believe it is an exercise, but US and Great
Britain intel suggests otherwise. War could be
imminent. Over.

CMP Houston, confirm secondary landing zone. I will
recalculate the landing approach and coordinate
with CAP COMM. Over.

CDR Houston, the return window on the secondary
splashdown will extend our stay on the lunar
surface. Over.

F Roger, Apollo 19. You will get another day on the
surface. CAP COMM will provide revised lunar
mission parameters by 1600 hours local. Remain
on current schedule pending revised mission. Over.

CDR Roger, Houston. Happy for the additional time. We
will make good use of it. Over.

F Apollo 19. Have a good morning. We will be
working hard down here to get you a fix for that
overpressure indicator and send you those revised
re-entry and landing plans. Houston out.

02 00 13 55

CDR Pogue. This is Pecky.

CMP I read you, Pecky.

CDR What the hell are the Ruskies playing at?

CMP Not sure. If the Sec Def is briefing NASA, it’s pretty bad.

CDR Whatever time window CAP COMM gives us for return, push to the soonest return.

CMP Roger that, Pecky. I don’t want to be up here when that shit hits the fan.

CDR I fully intend to be toasting 1974 with two fingers of Glenlivet on New Year’s.

LMP Pecky, we’ll still be in quarantine on New Year’s.

CDR Gentlemen, I planned ahead. The scotch is riding in the capsule. It’ll be quarantined with us.

LMP Unless Pogue found it. Liquor isn’t long for this world around those Oklahoma boys.

CMP Pecky, I pledge as a former Boy Scout, and as a current practicing Baptist, that your bottle is, and will remain, untouched.

[REDACTED]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

02 18 10 00 CC

Apollo 19. This is Houston. Over.

CMP Houston. Apollo 19. Over.

CC Apollo 19, did you receive the last transmission package? Over.

CMP Roger. We have the latest return trip parameters.

CDR Houston, we will be looking to return in the earliest time window. Over.

F Roger, Apollo 19. We need you to run some tests on the primary fuel tank which may delay your launch from the lunar surface. Over.

LMP Roger. We traced the whole electrical system inside and outside. Inspected ignition assembly. No sign of any short circuits. Nothing more we can do up here to check hardware short of crawling into the fuel tank. Over.

CC Roger. No one should need to crawl into that tank. We do know that Pesky likes to tinker with expensive NASA equipment to hide his favorite whiskey. Care to admit to anything?

CDR That is an unsubstantiated rumor, Houston. Over.

CC Commander Haise, you do know that we record all comms between the modules down here?

CMP You’re busted, Pesky!

CDR Houston, I assure you, any alcohol that may be on this mission is here for medicinal purposes only. And it is not stored in the primary fuel tank.

CC Apollo 19, you will need to switch over to the VHF channel for the scheduled interview with that kid’s magazine in five minutes.

CDR Roger, Houston. Jerry’s been excited to do this. He is a huge fan of Teen Beat magazine.

LMP I own every issue.

CMP Jerry, is it true they dubbed you the “Astrostud”?

LMP Come on, you guys, no room up here for jealousy.

CC Apollo 19, Houston. CAP COMM is finishing up a test procedure we will be sending up shortly, probably during the interview. CAP COMM thinks they have a procedure intended to reproduce the primary tank overpressure fault. Over.

CDR Roger. Will wait for that transmission. We will signal before we give it a try. Over.

LMP Well, Astrostud here, signing off to make myself pretty for the television.

CDR Jerry, you don’t have that kind of prep time.

CMP Besides I got all your eyeliner and face powder up here in the module!

CC And, on that note, Houston is out.

[REDACTED]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

02 20 05 00

LMP Houston, we entered the sequence of commands sent up into the main bus. No overpressure indicator alarm. Over.

CDR That’s what we get for letting the lowest bidder build this tin can.

F Roger. Sequence did not trigger an overpressure warning. CAP COMM aware. We will keep working. Over.

CDR Houston, I need to ask, is this a zero-contingency fault? Over.

F CAP COMM has confidence this fault will not result in mission failure. Chin up, Apollo 19. We will fix it. Houston signing off.

CDR Roger. See you in the morning. Apollo 19 out.

REST PERIOD – NO COMMUNICATIONS

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

03 00 11 00 CC

Apollo 19, Apollo 19, this is Houston. 

Over.

CMP Roger Houston. Apollo 19 receiving.

CC Apollo 19, switch to medical channel. Over.

CDR Confirm on secure channel. Over.

CMP Acknowledged. We are receiving and transmitting securely. Over.

F Apollo 19, we just had a second briefing from the Secretary of Defense. Overnight, there was a brief armed engagement between Soviet and NATO forces at the West German border. An emergency session of the United Nations has been convened, but the Soviet Premier refuses to attend, claiming that the incident was covered under the self-defense provision in the United Nations Charter. Soviet missile silos are hot and their nuclear weapons-capable submarines are at the surface with missile doors open. Over.

CDR Jesus H. Christ. What DEFCON are we at?

F DEFCON Two.

CMP Houston, confirm, DEFCON Two? Over.

F Apollo 19, confirm, DEFCON Two. Over.

CMP DEFCON 1 is nuclear war. So that is… that is some awful news, Houston. Over.

F Apollo 19, we are working to get you home safe and sound. CAP COMM has some ideas for today to try to pin down that overpressure issue and clear the module for launch. Over.

CDR Appreciate that. Over.

F Sending up the first set of commands. Before you input this new sequence, we request you perform a bleed procedure on the descent propulsion helium isolation valve, and then do a visual inspection of the external descent stage of the lunar module. Document using the video camera so we can review down here. Over.

LMP Acknowledge, Houston. I will conduct a bleed of the helium isolation valve and then visually inspect it. Over.

CMP Houston, I will begin prep for docking with the lunar module. Over.

F Sounds good, Apollo 19. We will be in contact after the completion of the bleed sequence and video survey. Over.

[REDACTED]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

03 08 12 09 CC

Apollo 19. Houston. Copy. Over.

LMP Roger, Houston. We copy.

CC We reviewed the video you sent. Everything looks to be in order. No visible damage. We noted your attempts to recreate the fault failed. Over.

LMP Houston, we are feeling pretty frustrated right now. Over.

CC Roger, Apollo 19. CAP COMM confirms. Everyone down here is frustrated, too. Over.

CDR We will commence with pre-launch checklist. Over.

CC We have your flight plan update. Over.

LMP Houston, Apollo 19. Go ahead with flight plan update. Over.

CC Roger, 19. We have you launching from the lunar surface tomorrow at 0400 hours. Rendezvous with Command Module is scheduled nine minutes later, at 0409 hours. Confirm. Over.

LMP Confirm, Houston. Launch at 0400 hours and docking with Command Module at 0409. Over.

CMP Command Module will be there with bells on.

LMP No need for bells, we couldn’t hear them in space.

CMP Well, the bells stay. They were a real pain in the butt to put on.

CC Apollo 19, Houston. We also have a sports update as requested. Michigan and Ohio State game ended in a 10-all tie.

CDR Houston, say again?

CC Apollo 19, score in the Michigan-Ohio State game was 10-to-10. A tie. Over.

CMP Yes! Jerry, you owe me fifty bucks.

LMP Ohio State didn’t lose!

CMP The bet was that they wouldn’t win.

LMP Don’t make me curse on a hot mic, Commander Pogue.

CDR Well, sounds like it was quite a game.

CC Apollo 19, we have another update. Switch to secure channel.

CDR Roger, Houston. On secure channel.

CMP Confirm, Houston, Apollo 19 secure channel.

F Apollo 19. United Nations meeting ended in strong condemnation of Soviet actions. Soviet Union withdrew UN membership claiming the United States and its allies had ruined the neutrality of the United Nations and then cut off all diplomatic ties with US. Soviet Premier just gave a speech that all but declared war on NATO countries. There are attempts by the Vatican and Sweden to broker emergency peace talks. Lots of frayed nerves down here, guys.

CDR Roger, Houston. Well, let’s, uh, pray for a peaceful resolution. Apollo 19 out.

[REDACTED]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

03 18 33 55

LMP Command module, this is lunar module.

You awake, Bill?

CMP Read you, Jerry. What’s up?

LMP Pecky and I wanted to discuss contingency plans.

CDR Commander Pogue, if anything happens with lunar module ascent, I want to be clear, your orders are to head home alone.

CMP Pecky. None of that. We’re all going home together.

CDR I sincerely hope so. But in the event we do not make docking, are my orders as commander of this mission understood?

CMP Yes, sir.

CDR And to be clear, neither of us wants to stay here. This place is a pretty crummy vacation spot.

LMP And a lousy place to retire.

CDR Your lips to God’s ears.

LMP If anybody asks, no plaque, no memorial. Just get me home and bury me at Arlington.

CDR You know. When the tanks blew out on [Apollo] 13, the darndest thing happened. All I could think of was this Crosby, Stills, and Nash song:

“We are stardust, we are golden

We are billion-year-old carbon

And we got to get ourselves

Back to the garden”

LMP Pesky, that’s pretty deep.

CMP You sure you don’t have some of that whiskey down there?

REST PERIOD – NO COMMUNICATIONS

[REDACTED]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

04 03 01 00

CC Apollo 19. Houston. Apollo 19. Houston. Over.

CDR Houston, we read you. We were not expecting a check-in.

F We just wanted to congratulate you for setting the human record for the longest time spent on the lunar surface. You broke Apollo 17’s record two minutes ago.

CDR Thank you, Houston. Chill the champagne and get Jerry’s name on that trophy.

LMP And make sure you spell it right this time. It’s Jerry with a “J.”

[REDACTED]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

04 04 15 00

F Apollo 19. Apollo 19. Say again. Over.

LMP Houston. Second activation failed to ignite main engine. Hold on.

F Roger, Apollo 19. We are reading pressure loss in the primary fuel tank. Confirm. Over.

LMP Fuel pressure dropping. We can hear exhaust noise through the bulkhead.

CDR Houston. We are going to attempt another ignition. Over.

F Negative Apollo 19, we do not recommend a second ignition attempt. You are venting fuel. Ignition could ignite venting gas.

CDR So we should just sit here and let our fuel run out? We’re trying again!

LMP Resetting ignition toggle.

F Apollo 19. Flight. Your call on ignition attempt. We do not advise another attempt. Repeat. We do not advise another attempt.

CDR We are dead either way. Go with ignition.

CC Acknowledge, Apollo 19.

CMP Command module. Eyes on. No joy. Repeat. No joy. Negative ignition.

F Lunar module?

LMP We’re still here. Tank reading zero pressure.

CDR Houston. Confirm. Primary fuel tank is depleted.

F Apollo 19. Give us a second.

CDR We have plenty of time now, Houston.

F Apollo 19. Flight. We confirm primary fuel tank pressure is zero.

CMP Houston. What’s the plan? Over.

CDR Commander Pogue, failure to launch from lunar surface is a zero-contingency fault. There is no plan for lunar module rescue.

CC Apollo 19. We are still evaluating data.

CMP I can loiter for several orbits.

CDR Commander, you are not to risk your return window.

CMP Pecky, I can make at least two more orbits without cutting into my 15 percent fuel reserve.

CDR Two orbits. That’s it. Then whoever can go home, goes home.

[REDACTED]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

04 04 49 11

CC Apollo 19. Houston.

CDR Houston. We copy. Go ahead.

CC Apollo 19. We, uh, have a situation down here. [inaudible]… evacuation. [sound of alarms]

LMP Houston, repeat last message? Over.

CDR Anybody recognize whose voice that was?

CMP Negative, lunar module. Wasn’t Flight.

CC Apollo 19. Houston calling. NASA facilities are being evacuated. Inbound Soviet missiles. Houston is targeted by several warheads. Will try to switch comms to NORAD. But advise, NORAD targeted by multiple warheads.

CDR Houston. Confirm authenticity of message. Over.

F Apollo 19. Flight on secure channel. I… I am staying behind.

CDR Houston. Understood.

F Your discretion for a final ignition attempt. There may be some fumes in the tank. Enough to get you off the surface.

LMP Houston. Making final ignition attempt. [inaudible]

CDR Houston. This is Apollo 19. Negative ignition. Repeat. Negative ignition.

F Acknowledge, Apollo 19. I will remain on the line as long as I can.

[REDACTED]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

04 07 33 00 LMP Houston? Apollo 19. Are you reading?

CDR Houston? This is Commander, Apollo 19. Please respond. Over.

CMP Houston? Apollo 19. Command module requesting a response. Over.

LMP Gentleman. I think Houston is offline.

CDR Can you see anything?

CMP Negative. But my telescope isn’t powerful enough to see… what happened.

CMP Let’s try NORAD again.

LMP NORAD Air Force Command. This is Apollo 19. Please respond.

CDR NORAD. This is Commander, Apollo 19. Over.

LMP Anyone? This is Apollo 19. Over.

CMP I will keep trying on comms. See if you can pull a rabbit out of the hat with that engine before I have to run along home.

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

04 07 57 50 CMP Apollo 19. Command module. Over.

LMP We read you, Pogue. Over.

CMP Apollo 19. Fuel reserve is 15 percent [at the minimum margin for Earth return trip.]

CDR Time for you to head back home, William.

CMP God only knows what is waiting for me.

CDR I pray it is better than what you are leaving behind.

CMP Pecky. Jerry. It was an honor.

LMP Give your wonderful wife Helen a big hug for me when you see her.

CMP Will do. And I will give Joann one for you. [inaudible]

CDR The honor was mine, Commander. One request. As much as we love the sound of your voice, when we sign off, please respect radio silence.

CMP Roger. Godspeed. Command module out.

CDR Apollo 19. Over. And out.

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

07 01 00 05 TICO USS Ticonderoga to Apollo 19. Over.

CMP [inaudible] …re-entry. Over.

TICO Tracked your splashdown. Apollo 19. We are en route. ETA twenty-four minutes. Repeat last.

CMP [inaudible] Apollo 19 calling Ticonderoga [inaudible] …these your boats?

TICO Say again, Apollo 19?

CMP [inaudible]

TICO Apollo 19. Ticonderoga. Over.

CMP [sound of gunfire]

07 01 25 00

TICO We have reached Apollo 19 splashdown site. Search and rescue are underway.

07 01 35 00

TICO Command. Ticonderoga. [Situation Report]. Soviet naval patrol in retreat. Command module appears to have been target of an enemy barrage. Commander Pogue missing. Sharks sighted in water. Please advise. Over.

[NB: THIS PORTION OF THE TRANSCRIPT IS DERIVED FROM NON-NASA SOURCES]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

07 ?? ?? ?? LMP Apollo 19 to anyone with ears. Over.

07 ?? ?? ?? CDR Batteries depleted. Carbon dioxide

levels critical.

[inaudible]

Wrote letters. Please deliver.

[inaudible]

Sorry, I will miss Christmas, Tommy.

07 ?? ?? ?? LMP Hope the boat’s there to rescue Pogue.

CDR Houston. Pogue’s Air Force. Be advised, that boy can’t swim too long.

?? ?? ?? ?? CDR Jerry? Medkit near you? Can’t find it.

LMP Fingers numb. Might be. There. Got it.

[It is assumed the Mission Commander was looking for the lander’s medkit because it contained cyanide capsules to be taken in the event of mission failure.]

Day/Hr/Min/Sec

?? ?? ?? ?? LMP Joann. See you soon. Carr out.

?? ?? ?? ?? CDR Can’t help but look out the lander’s 

window.

[inaudible]

Ozymandias. Last line.

[inaudible] 

“The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Jerry, you were right. Lousy place to retire.

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